Sovereignty, Authority and Power

"Every end of the century since the 18th century has witnessed the same pattern: long periods of peace, order and progress followed by political violence and revolution.”  Mexican Historian Enrique Krauze

Overview Lots of political turnover Won independence from Spanish in 1821 Independence did not change structure drastically Highly unstable in early 20 th century Military Generals ruled until mid-20 th century Presidents were essentially dictators until recently Economic growth in late 20 th century and early 20 th century Currently undergoing democratization

Stages of Mexican History  Colonialism (16 th Century – Revolution in 1810)  Chaos ( )  Development (Late 20 th Century- present)

Legitimacy Considered a legitimate government  Revolution of is major source of legitimacy Admire Revolutionary Leaders  Benito Juarez  Emilio Zapata  Pancho Villa Charisma is valued highly Formation of PRI (Institutionalized Revolutionary Party) in 1929

Historical Traditions Authoritarianism  Started by Spanish  Current President holds lots of authority Populism  Strong Leaders Elite Splits  Politicos vs. Tecnicos Instability  Presidential candidate assassinated in 1994

Political Culture Sense of National Identity  Religion (Catholic) Patron-clientelism (camarillas)  Hold Mexican politics together  PRI defeat indicated decline Corruption  Caused by camarillas Dependency  Spain (colonialism)  United States (recent times)

Colonization ( ) Conquered the Aztecs (Hernan Cortez) 1521 Brought Christianity (official religion) Slavery of indigenous people Established Spanish style of government Spanish became official language of colonies

Chaos ( ) Independence from Spain in governments in 33 years No sense of stability Separation of Church and State Porfiriato  Porfirio Diaz ( )  Authoritarian  Conservative  Modernized  Income gap increased  Stepped down to allow democracy in to the government

Stability? ( ) 1910 ‘Epic Revolution’ led by Emiliano Zapata and others Uprising led by Pancho Villa in 1910’s New Constitution in 1917 PRI established in 1929 (see next slide) Peaceful transition from authoritarian to democratic Numerous assassinations PRI held power for decades (71 years)

Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) Established in 1929 Transition from authoritarian to democratic Written Constitution  Democratic Government  Three Branches Strong Leaders Ruling Party for Decades Political Monopoly Lost power in late 20 th Century PRI lost presidency and a house in Congress in 2000 Future role in Mexico is uncertain Current President is PRI Ruling party for 71 years

‘Mexican Miracle’ ( ) During first four decades of PRI rule Major figure was Lazaro Cardenas Orderly transition from authoritarian to democratic National development  Copied Soviet Union GDP increased by 500% Population only doubled Peso-dollar parity maintained Protectionism Subsoil law (constitutional) Utilized “ISI”  Import Substitution Industrialization

1994 NAFTA signed in 1994 (January 1 st ) Uprising in Chiapas Assassination of leading presidential candidate Peso devalued Government leaders investigated Political turnover PRI losses a house in Congress Increased debt Oil losses value

Recent Mexico Recovery  Paying back debts to United States  Fair election in 2000 Mexico Today  Labeled “newly industrialized country”, “transitional democracy”, and “developing”  Purchasing Power Parity of $9800 (fairly high)  58% of workforce in service sector  Fairly confusing country politically  Political future is uncertain  Drug cartels

Geographic Influence Mountains and Deserts  Difficult communication  Regionalism Natural Resources  Plentiful  Misused Border with United States  2000 miles long  Causes political tension

Geography (cont.) 100 Million People  Population Growth of 1.8 percent  Top 10 most populous countries Urban Population  Movement away from rural areas  ¾ of population lives in cities  18 million in Mexico City Varied Climates  “Long” country

But the reason then and now has always been the same  Mexican Historian Enrique Krauze

Why Mexico Can’t Catch a Break Political Economic Social Structural Religious History of Mexico Drug Cartels

“Mexico has not been able to solve its basic problem, which is to find out how we should govern ourselves.”  Mexican Historian Enrique Krauze